The story goes...Orson Welles asked producer Albert Zugsmith for a copy of the worst script he had. Orson wanted to prove that he could make a good movie out of a terrible screenplay. The script was Badge of Evil, which Welles rewrote and shot as Touch of Evil (one of the best films of all time).

What the story suggests is that a decent script can be made from unpromising material given a free hand to adapt.